the ship was laid down on 13 March 1943 at Los Angeles, California, by the Western Pipe and Steel Company; launched on Independence Day 1943; sponsored by Mrs. John Franklin Weaver; and commissioned on 31 December 1943.

Operating from the base at Majuro, she escorted the oilers to refueling rendezvous with the fast carriers during their raids on Truk, Satawan, and Ponape in late April and early May.

On 28 August, she carried a prize crew from USS Proteus to the surrendered Japanese submarine I-400 and then entered Sagami Wan, Japan, to begin duty with the occupation forces.

Steaming via Pearl Harbor, San Pedro, Los Angeles, and the Panama Canal, she arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 22 November to begin preparations for inactivation.

Late in December, she moved south to Green Cove Springs, Florida, where, though technically still in commission, she joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.